Readers of the Lost Archive

The appearance of a hardback compilation of classic strips from the Beano and Dandy in the shops has been a much-anticipated annual event for years now, but I don't think it'd be too much of a controversial statement to say that the results did tend to be something of a mixed bag. Thankfully, DC Thomson seem to have given this year's offering due care and attention, and the result is one of their most impressive collections of vintage comics for years.

Raiders of the Lost Archive packs a whopping one hundred and forty-four pages with a seriously impressive selection of classic strips from old Dandy and Beano annuals, as well as the comics themselves, and this time the word 'classic' means just that - this compilation has obviously been overseen by someone who knows and cares about what they're doing, as opposed to being cobbled together on a slow afternoon by some work experience kid who thinks 'old strips' and 'classic strips' are the same thing. I don't wish to further labour the point, but if it's Roger the Dodger, as drawn by the great Ken Reid you're looking for, this book has it.

Now compare the above strip to the way Roger the Dodger appears in current editions of the Beano...

It's enough to make you weep, it really is.

Enough of that, anyway. Let's get back to Raiders of the Lost Archive. What else would you expect from a vintage collection?Dennis the Menace, as drawn by David Law? Check...

Minnie the Minx, drawn by Leo Baxendale? Yep, that too...

Still not convinced? Try this Baxendale-drawn Bash Street Kids strip for size...

And in case you're still in any doubt whether or not you should buy this fantastic book, let me remind you of the sort of guff that somehow passes muster in the Beano these days... WARNING! Not for the faint hearted.

Seriously, what the fuck even is that? 

Anyway, this book is the way comics should be done - and the way they should still be done, in my (admittedly worthless) opinion. If you don't have kids, buy it for yourself. Just buy it - you won't regret it!